Our Ingredients

The UpCircle story started with the idea of giving used coffee grounds a new lease of life. We’ve now transformed more than 350 tonnes of the stuff into our sustainable skincare. 

So, it all started with coffee, but why stop there? Our palm oil-free soaps are made with residual chai tea spices left over after making chai syrups. The UK produced 23,000 tonnes of fruit stone waste in 2012 alone, so we knew something had to be done there too. We’ve now released our “fruit pit range”, within which each product is made with the powder of a different discarded fruit pit. Nothing is safe from being UpCircled – only our imagination can limit us! Next up, we’re saving flower petals from florists and wedding venues.

Our brand name encapsulates our core purpose: sustainability and promoting the power of the circular economy. UpCircle also hints at ‘upcycling’, the process of making something better from things that already exist. It’s been a gradual process and each product from our range has its own unique provenance given the circular economy element. Their unique story is part of what makes them so special.

We believe all life is sacred. That’s why we use only the finest plant-based ingredients, and never test on animals.

THE INGREDIENTS WE UPCYCLE

We believe in asking the same questions of our beauty products that we would our food products – what is inside, how is it made, who is making it and why are they making it?

1/3 of all food produced is wasted. It’s one of the most wasteful industries in the world meaning that it gives companies like us a huge number of ingredients from which to do better things. Food ingredients can have powerful effects on the body - inside and out – so there’s an opportunity for us to create beauty products from food ingredients that’re being discarded yet still have much to offer our skin.

• Chamomile stem extract: The UpCircle Face Toner is made with skin-soothing chamomile stem extract, a by-product of the tea industry.
• Coffee: We collect coffee grounds from an ever-growing portfolio of artisan cafes. The antioxidants in coffee increase as it’s brewed!
• Fruit Waters: The UpCircle Face Toner, Hand + Body Wash and Hand + Body Lotion are made with residual fruit waters, a by-product of the juicing industry.
  
• Fruit Stones: The production of fruit oils leaves behind all the goodness in the stones. The fruit stone powders are rich in Vitamins A, C and E.
• Maple Bark Extract: The UpCircle Eye Cream is made with anti-inflammatory maple bark extract, a by-product of the wood industry.
  
• Chai Spices: Ten aromatic chai spices are used to make chai syrup. We resurrect these spices to give our soaps their seductively intoxicating aroma.
• Date Seeds: The UpCircle Body Cream is made with the anti-inflammatory extract of leftover date seeds, a by-product of date farming.
• Blueberry extract: The UpCircle Night Cream is made with the antioxidant-rich extract of repurposed blueberries, a by-product of the blueberry juicing industry.